


trying to save face

by ShyAudacity



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Bisexual Moose, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Kevin is mega stressed out, Kevin needs a hug, M/M, Midge is only mentioned, Moose is a Good Guy, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Short & Sweet, Sleep Deprivation, Tell me if I missed anything, i dont usually write cute stuff, just a little idk, kinda idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-03 17:46:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14001303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyAudacity/pseuds/ShyAudacity
Summary: He finds Kevin in the student lounge by himself, sitting on the couch, staring off into space.Moose doesn’t know where to start.“Kev?”Kevin looks over in his direction, breathes deeply before speaking.“Hey, Moose, what’s up?”The smile on Kevin’s face is so fake compared to his real one; something about it makes Moose’s heart ache.ORKevin hasn't been sleeping lately and Moose just wants to help.





	trying to save face

**Author's Note:**

  * For [helpmeimstuckon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/helpmeimstuckon/gifts).



> For my friend Logan because I told them about this and they got excited. 
> 
> Unbeta'd and title from Heaven by Troye Sivan.

_He looks exhausted._

Moose knows he should be focusing on his math test, but he keeps looking over at Kevin.

Kevin looks like he hasn’t slept in a week, maybe longer. He hasn’t touched his test in the last ten minutes, just keeps staring at the paper. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that something is bothering him.

The bell rings a couple minutes later, and everyone is up out of their seats, anxious to leave. Moose can’t help but notice how Kevin doesn’t get up right away; he’s moving slower than everyone else.

_It’s spring break, what would he be waiting around here for?_

Moose tries not to make it obvious that he’s stalling at his locker. He keeps looking at Kevin out of the corner of his eye, making sure that he doesn’t duck out before Moose has a chance to talk to him. He finds Kevin in the student lounge by himself, sitting on the couch, staring off into space.

Moose doesn’t know where to start.

“Kev?”

Kevin looks over in his direction, breathes deeply before speaking.

“Hey, Moose, what’s up?”

The smile on Kevin’s face is so fake compared to his real one; something about it makes Moose’s heart _ache_.

“What’re you doing in here? School’s over.”

“Oh, you know just… sittin’.” Kevin’s demeanor shifts just a little, and Moose knows that he’s not reading into this incorrectly.  

“Are you okay?” He asks, joining Kevin on the couch. “You don’t really seem like yourself.”

Kevin sighs a little, picks at a fraying spot on the knee of his jeans, doesn’t meet Moose’s eye when he speaks up.

“My Dad has been cheating on my Mom while she’s been away. She doesn’t know and she’s coming home in a few days. I just- I don’t want to see the look on her face when he tells her.”

“That’s really shitty. I’m sorry, Kevin.”

“I’d go home but I’ve been trying to ignore my Dad as much as possible. Every time he’s around I can’t help but think about what he did- sorry, I doubt that I’m making any sense right now.”

“You’re good, I promise. You do look really tired though.”

“I feel like I haven’t slept in a year. This whole thing has been eating at me.”

Moose nods, hums a little as if to say _I understand_. He squeezes Kevin’s shoulder, doesn’t miss the way he melts under the touch, the tension slowly leaving his body.

“Here- I have an idea.” Moose tells him, a hand in the middle of his back.

Kevin doesn’t fight it, let’s Moose maneuver him until his head is in Moose’s lap. He chimes in when Moose starts to push back his hair from his forehead.

“Someone might see us.”

“It’s 3:30 on a Friday,” Moose reminds him, laughing a little. “I highly doubt that anyone is still at school.”

“…You are.”

He hesitates, caught off guard by the statement, “I guess I have a really good reason.”

Kevin curls a hand around Moose’s calf.

“I might fall asleep.”

“Okay.” He responds softly.

Kevin tightens his hand just the slightest bit.

“Please don’t go anywhere.”

“I won’t… I promise. Everything is gonna be fine, you’ll see.”

Moose stays because he wants to, stays and rubs his hand down Kevin’s arm even after he’s dozed off. He doesn’t think about Midge once while he’s there, or how confused she would be if she saw the two of them right now. He doesn’t think about how Midge and himself are bound to break up at some point, or how he should just rip the band aid off and quit dragging things out.

Instead, he thinks about how Kevin deserves so much better than all the shit that’s going on in his life right now. Moose tells himself that he’s going make Kevin happy again, he’ll bring that true smile back to his face, bring it back to where it belongs.  

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing short stuff lately idk why.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments/Kudos give me motivation. You can find me on tumblr as archieandrewsprotectionsquad. Have a great day!


End file.
